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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 2025).

The Things They Say!

This is a good opportunity to say thanks to BSH for their support of the jazz scene in the North East (and beyond) - it's no exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for them many, many fine musicians, bands and projects across a huge cross section of jazz wouldn't be getting reviewed at all, because we're in the "desolate"(!) North. (M & SSBB on F/book 23/12/24)

Postage

18018 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 339 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (May 7).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Thu 15: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: The Greatest in Jazz - Guitarists.
Thu 15: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 15: New Ways of Moving in the Counterworlds @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). John Garner & John Pope.

Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Sophie Speed with the Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ Longframlington Memorial Hall. 7:00pm (doors). Tickets: £12.00. from 01665 570984.
Fri 16: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £10.00.
Fri 16: Peter Donegan & Anthony Donegan @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. ‘Lonnie Donegan - The Stories’.

Sat 17: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 17: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal). Line-up: Jason Holcomb, Hannah Taylor, Alix Shepherd & Abbie Finn.
Sat 17: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Archie Brown & the Young Bucks @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues, Americana etc.
Sat 17: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Rockabilly, Western swing etc.

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth NE61 1ND. 8:00pm.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Sunday, December 12, 2021

The Joe Webb Trio: The Art of Tatum @ The Bear Club, Luton - Dec 11

Joe Webb (piano); Dave Archer (guitar); Will Sach (double bass)

Over the course of some eighteen months or so of lockdown pianist Joe Webb explored the music of Art Tatum and in the process put together a show dedicated to performing the music of the legendary American pianist. In August, Newcastle's Lit & Phil hosted a first live show and now, some four months on, Bebop Spoken Here made the trip south from its Tyneside base to check out how things have been going.
  
The Bear Club in Mill Yard, tucked away off Guildford Street, is one of Luton's hidden gems. Since 2014 proprietor Justin John Doherty has worked tirelessly to develop the stripped-back-to-the-brick venue into a welcoming space for live jazz and other events. This evening the big attraction was the Joe Webb Trio playing a final engagement on the trio's self-styled 'Webb City' tour. Arriving early, your correspondent had the pick of the seats. And there was Joe, together with Dave Archer and Will Sach, tucking into a pre-gig meal. A quick 'hello', we'd catch up later in the evening. 

It was to be two sets of Tatum, plus, and it couldn't be anything other than a bonus, some Oscar Peterson! Honeysuckle Rose to start. Wow! Just as it was at the Lit & Phil, this was the business! Sitting at the Bear Club's Yamaha piano, Webb made it look so easy, playing with a free-flowing technique to die for. Guitarist Dave Artist is as swinging as they come - Tiny Grimes, Herb Ellis - underpinned by a wonderful blues feel, bassist, New Yorker Will Sach, possesses an old school dry, woody sound, technique in spades yet admirably content to play the part (no chart!) as required. A class act, all three of them. Moonglow, an impossibly good take on I Got Rhythm, this alone was worth the trip south.

Herbie's Tune and Sunday from the Oscar Peterson album recorded live at Zardi's brought out the best in the Webb City Trio, that said, Webb, Archer and Sach are incapable of delivering anything other than their best. Winter Wonderland acknowledged a forthcoming occasion, whatever that might be, and, to close, a stupendous take on Flying Home. Joe Webb is one of the pianists of his generation and Luton's Bear Club is a fine venue in which to present his music. Check out: www.the-bear.club. Russell
                             
Set list included: Honeysuckle RoseMoonglowI Got RhythmWhen I Wish Upon a StarHerbie's Tune; I Ain't Got NobodyBody and Soul; Anything GoesSunday; Deep PurpleTea for TwoTiny's ExerciseTwo Sleepy People(I Would Do) Anything for YouWinter WonderlandFlying Home

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